Critical Condition
by PineappleGRIMES
Summary: One member of NCIS is about to end up in the hospital and another makes an appearance. Will this member of NCIS make it through? Find out next!


"Critical Condition"

It's after hours at NCIS, we go into the squad room and find Tony, Kate, and Ziva leaving for the night and Tony decides to take Ziva and Kate out to a club to celebrate another hard working-case. As Kate and Ziva head for the elevator, Tony runs over to the elevator as he grabs his stuff and the three go into the elevator down to the parking lot. As Tony walks on over to the parking lot, he asks Kate and Ziva if they want to head out to the bar tonight to grab a drink and/or dance in Dover?

"Kate, Ziva, since we're getting off of work, wanna go out to the bar? I'll buy the drinks," Tony said with a happy look on his face. "Sure Tony," Ziva and Kate said together. Kate rides with Tony in his car and Ziva heads off to her car and drives to her place to drop her car off.

"Ziva, I'll come pick you up. We'll ride in my car to the bar," said Tony.

"Okay, Tony," said Ziva.

Tony and Kate approaches Ziva's house to pick her up. Ziva hops in the car and the three head off to the bar to go celebrate the solving of a case. 15 minutes later, they approach the bar and the three go inside to drink and dance and have a good time.  
"Bartender, lemme get a sake bomb and two AZ long island iced teas please!" said Tony. Tony then gets the drinks and toasts to another case solved at NCIS. After that, Tony lets Ziva and Kate know that he's heading outside to get some fresh air since it was hot inside. Kate and Ziva smile and go dance on the floor.

"Ah, it's a great night to be out at the bar. Couldn't be much happier than where my life is right now," Tony said to himself. All of a sudden, gunshots ring out in a nearby alley and a vehicle drives off. Tony then pulls his SIG out from the car and runs into the alley. Surprisingly, Tony finds Special Agent E.J. Barrett in the alley next to a dead U.S. Marine in his greens.  
"Barrett, what the hell happened?" asked Tony.

"I was nearby at the corner store when I heard the gunshots nearby. It looked like a black Chevy 2005 Suburban, dark colored Virginia Plates 7Y9 502," said E.J.

"Okay, E.J., secure the crime scene. I'll call Ducky in. Jeez, I was having a good night tonight!" Tony said in frustration.

"Tony, one more thing, I will go to the Director about this relation—"

Tony pushes E.J. out of the way with another shooter coming out of the darkness of the alley. He gets shot in the process, but saves E.J.'s life. E.J. then puts a bullet in the attempted murderer, killing him.

"Tony! Stay with me!" shouted E.J.

"E.J., you okay? Damn I should've worn my vest! Go find Kate and Ziva, they're inside the bar." Tony said, while coughing blood.

E.J. calls Kate and Ziva informing them of the crime scene in the alley and asks them to call Emergency Services. Apparently, when they get to the alley, they're shocked to see that Tony was shot badly and needs to go to the hospital. Kate decides to take Tony to the hospital since they cannot wait for the ambulance to arrive. She grabs Tony's keys and runs to get the car. Ziva, E.J. and Tony remain in the alley waiting for the Emergency teams to come in.

Kate arrives moments later with Tony's car. "Ziva! E.J.! Help Tony in the car. Get his arms and legs and put him in the backseat. Make sure you secure him," screamed Kate. Kate then jumps in the driver's seat and backs up out of the alley fast and speeds off to Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Ziva and E.J. remain in the alley as Gibbs, McGee and Ducky arrive along with D.C. Metro to the crime scene. Gibbs and McGee step out of the car and see two bodies. McGee goes up to Ziva and asks about DiNozzo.

"Ziva, what happened? Where's Tony?" asked McGee.

"Tony's been shot…badly. He's in critical condition, but he saved E.J. Barrett. Please McGee, I don't want him to die." cried Ziva.

"Ziva, its fine. I heard Kate's already at the hospital with Tony, he'll be fine." McGee implied.

"Barrett, what happened?" asked Gibbs.

"Gibbs, I was nearby at a corner store when I heard gunshots ringing out close by in an alley. I ran out to the alley and saw that a U.S. Marine was shot multiple times in the back. Then I saw Tony a couple minutes later. Supposedly, there was another shooter in the alley, Tony pushed me out of the way and saved me from getting shot." E.J. explained.

"Alright," said Gibbs.

Ziva tells Gibbs that Kate and Tony were out getting drinks when Tony went outside for fresh air.

Meanwhile, Kate has arrived at Bethesda Hospital with Tony, she yells for a doctor to help Tony, who was shot in the chest. "Tony! Don't you die on me. Hang in there! I'm squeezing your hand buddy. Don't die on me!" Kate screamed.

"Miss, you can't go in there, we'll be operating on…what's his name?" a Doctor said.

"Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS," Kate said.

"Alright. We'll get operating. We will keep you informed on a minute-by-minute basis." The Doctor said.

Kate then calls Gibbs and lets him know that she made it to Bethesda and Tony's in surgery. Gibbs tells Kate to return to the alley of the shooting and help Ziva and McGee process the scene. He also informs that E.J. will wait at the hospital and that Ducky has arrived on scene to process the bodies. Kate complies and leaves.

Ducky arrives on the scene with his assistant, Jimmy Palmer. "Jethro, what happened here? We got a couple bodies," asked Ducky.

"Got a Marine and another shooter in the alley which Special Agent Barrett killed him after Tony saved her," replied Gibbs.

"Good god, is Anthony okay?" Ducky asked Gibbs again.

"Yeah, but he's critical. They got him at Bethesda, Duck. He'll be fine."

Ziva finds the dead Marine's I.D. in his shirt pocket. "Got something, Lance Corporal P.J. Alvarez, USMC, Quantico."

"T.O.D. Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"About 0100 this morning, Jethro, I won't know more until we get him back to Autopsy. Mr. Palmer, can you get the gurney?" Ducky said.

"Yes Doctor!" Palmer replied.

McGee locates a M1911A1 .45 next to the dumpster, while Ziva locates a Beretta 9mm pistol, and Kate returns to the scene after delivering Tony to the hospital.

"Boss, we have no ID on the second shooter that shot Tony, but it looks like this M1911A1 .45 is his gun. The Lance Corporal's gun that Ziva found was a standard issue M9 Beretta. It's a full clip and it seems like he didn't have a chance to shoot off the gun." McGee said.

"Alright, bag and tag this stuff and get it to Abby's lab for analysis." Gibbs said.

As we catch up with E.J. Barrett, Tony is out of surgery and moved to the ICU for further tests. E.J. then goes into the room where Tony's at and holds his hand. Tony's eyes have been closed for the last six hours and she sits with him until he awakens. She steps out and heads to the gift shop to go get him flowers.

McGee delivers the M1911A1 and the Beretta to Abby's lab among other evidence. "Abby, got some stuff from our Lance Corporal's crime scene. Analyze it and call when you have something."

"You got it, McGee!" Abby said.

"Lance Corporal Patrick James Alvarez or "PJ" as what his fellow soldiers called him. He served two tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan. Very friendly around his fellow Marines and his C.O. said PJ is a very great sharpshooter and keeps himself in excellent shape. Not married, no kids, family died when he was 10 years old. Had a bit of a rough life growing up, but the Marine Corps did a 180 on his life." Ziva told McGee and Gibbs.

"Alright, Ziva, with me. We're going to see Ducky before we head to Quantico. McGee help Abby with the evidence and Kate; call Barrett to get an update on Tony." Gibbs said.

"Mr. Palmer, what does this look like to you in the Lance Corporal's body?" Ducky asked.

"Looks like a pacemaker, Doctor Mallard." Jimmy replied.

Ducky removes the bullets in Lance Corporal Alvarez's body and tells Palmer to take it up to Abby, stat.

"A pacemaker which was not mentioned in his SRB, Duck." Gibbs said walking in.

"Ah Jethro, I was about to call you in, but you read my mind. Your Lance Corporal had a heart attack before being shot multiple times in the alley. That's your official cause of death."

"Anything else, Ducky?"

"Nope."

McGee steps off the elevator with a Caf-Pow and walks into Abby's lab. Abby is checking the rounds from the .45 and checks to see if they match the rounds from Lance Corporal Alvarez's body.

"Abby, I'll give you a hand with the evidence to make it go a lot faster," said McGee.

"Thanks McGee, hey I found something from the crime scene you may want to see, I was running blood splatter analysis from the shooter that shot Tony and whom E.J. killed in the alley, it belongs to a one Fred Kline, who's been wanted on several charges of robbery, attempted murder, assault and domestic violence," Abby told McGee.

"Good job, Abby. Palmer brought me the slugs that were in Lance Corporal Alvarez's body and Kline's body," said McGee. "The .45 round from Kline's gun shot Tony and the 9mm rounds from Kline's body match the NCIS SIG Sauer P239 from Barrett's gun, however though, the bullets that Palmer brought from Autopsy, those are your 7.62x39mm rounds, so in english = AK-47." McGee said.

Gibbs and Ziva arrive at USMC – Quantico in Virginia. They find Alvarez's Commanding Officer Sergeant Major Mick Curtis.

"Sergeant Major, Special Agents Gibbs and David, NCIS. What do you know about Lance Corporal Alvarez?" said Gibbs.

"PJ? He's one of my best snipers on the team and most in shape Marine I've ever seen. Great leader, he may be a squad leader one day. Kid has a lot of potential after coming off the streets. He was troubled growing up, but when he joined, his life did a complete 180 degrees and ever since, Alvarez just became one of my best men," Sergeant Major Curtis explained to Gibbs.

"Did he have a grudge against anyone here? Anyone who wanted a fight with him?" asked Ziva.

"Not that I know of. He got along with his fellow Marines," Sergeant Major Curtis said.

"What was Alvarez's work detail on base?" asked Gibbs.

"Lance Corporal Alvarez was always working in the motor pool. He wasn't just good with just a firearm. He knew how to tune-up our humvees to their full potential," Sergeant Major Curtis replied.

"Alright. If you find anything else, give me a call," Gibbs told Sergeant Major Curtis.

At the hospital, Barrett receives a call from Kate, telling her that Tony's out of surgery. E.J. tells Kate that Tony pulled through; they got him in fair condition and conscious. Kate tells E.J. that she's going to be coming in to talk to Tony about what happened in the alley that night he was shot.

Kate heads over to Bethesda to rejoin Agent Barrett while McGee and Abby are making wonderful progress with their findings of Lance Corporal Alvarez's shooters. A few moments later, a call comes in from the Baltimore P.D. about another dead body in their area, turns out it's another body from the U.S. Navy.

"Crap. I'll call Gibbs and Ziva and tell them to head up to Baltimore," McGee told Abby.

"No problem, McGee, I'll finish analyzing the evidence, get going to Baltimore." Abby said.

McGee, Ziva, and Gibbs head up to Baltimore's Pontiac Stadium where the Baltimore Ravens play. When they get there, they make a startling discovery, the U.S. Navy Captain was tortured and hung for the public to see him.

"Special Agent Gibbs, Detective Callahan," Callahan said. "Your dead Navy Captain is one Lewis Grey. Janitor called it in at about 0930 this morning. He saw him hanging from the rafters this morning and nearly had a heart attack.

"Thank you Detective. McGee, witness statements. Ziva, shoot and sketch." Gibbs said.

"Mr. Palmer, when I say the stadium, I didn't mean the Washington REDSKINS STADIUM! I meant the Baltimore Ravens football stadium!" Ducky shouted. "I'm terribly sorry Jethro! Mr. Palmer can't figure out what stadium belongs to who in Maryland or D.C."

"Doctor, it is not my fault, you said a football stadium, you didn't say Baltimore Ravens." Palmer said. "Wow, this is the meaning of the cheap seats," he chuckled nervously.

Gibbs and Ducky stare at Palmer while Palmer looks at them and walks off to get the gurney.

"Duck, you got a time of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Not more than three hours ago, Jethro." Ducky replied.

Abby calls Gibbs on the phone and tells her that she found the SUV. She tells him that its in Manassas, Virginia. The house belongs to a one Percival "Ricardo" Lopez and the Mala Noche gang.

"Kate, Ziva, McGee, and Barrett, get the tactical gear and meet in Manassas. Move it!" Gibbs shouted.

As the four agents went to Manassas, DiNozzo who is finally awake says something…"Nurse Emma" as he smiles that he's still alive. 30 minutes later, the four agents arrive and stack up on the front gate getting ready to head in. Gibbs gives the order to blow the door and clear the rooms.  
"NCIS Federal Agents! On the ground now! Do NOT MOVE!" they all shouted out loud. "Where is Lopez!" asked Gibbs.

"He's out back!" replied the Mala Noche Lieutenant.

"Lopez! Freeze!" shouted Gibbs. "On the ground now!"

Lopez drops his gun and challenges Gibbs to a one-on-one showdown in his backyard. Gibbs throws good combos while Lopez is on the receiving end of most of the hits. Gibbs then puts him on his back and takes Lopez into custody. "You're under arrest, Lopez for the murders of Captain Lewis Grey, Lance Corporal P.J. Alvarez, and the attempted murder of a Federal Agent."

Gibbs, Kate, McGee, and Barrett all turn their suspects over to the FBI while the four head over to Bethesda Naval Hospital to see DiNozzo.  
"Boss! You brought me a pizza! How kind of you. Probie, you did well filling in for me. Kate, thank you for savin my life. Ziva, I hope you understand what happened. Barrett, thanks for the flowers. Ducky, nice to see you too. Thank you guys for all coming," said DiNozzo.

"Tony, I forgot to give you one more present," said Gibbs.

"Oh yeah, boss? What's that?" asked DiNozzo.

Gibbs slaps Tony in the head, while everyone around laughs at Tony.


End file.
